Thursday
9 November 2017
— in the woods beyond the fence the fir trees reassert their presence.
Good Morning All,
The other day one of you wrote in to say concerning my wren story:
I see this as an allegory about liberals and conservatives (and I sincerely hope you meant it to be). The liberals, who believe in a benevolent and wise government and who believe that such a government should provide the fundamental needs of the people (such as universal health care), will want you to feed the wren. The conservatives, who believe in individual responsibility (but who also believe that the government should provide a helping hand when extreme conditions like losing your job make that appropriate and necessary), will want the wren to fend for herself, but are happy to help after the first frost. I am entertained to find you in this camp, Bheka.
The truth is, I had not seen it as a political allegory, since I am usually blissfully unaware of what may be going on in anything I write, other than what is on the surface. That said, I can certainly now see that allegorical reading as viable.
I was was struck by the reader’s equally generous view of liberals and conservatives (in Trump’s polarized America, a rare show of equanimity and fair-mindedness!) Certainly in the Puritanical and Emersonian New England where I grew up, and within my staunchly conservative Republican family, self-reliance was at the center of who you were. If you were a man, you made it on your own. You did not take hand-outs, governmental, neighborly, or otherwise. Any one would succeed by dint of industry and determination.
But I wonder if that were ever true—that anyone in America would (not could or might) succeed solely by hard work. Possibly it was true for the original immigrants from England and Scotland. Possibly it was also true for the Irish and the Italians after they successfully endured WASP efforts to keep them down and eventually had enough power to help the WASPS try to keep African-Americans and Latinos in their places and under their thumbs.
As it happens, on the same day, another reader sent me a link to a video in which Doctor David Williams, a Harvard professor, speaks on the subject of Addressing Challenges and Opportunities to Diversity and Inclusion.
This remarkable man begins by quietly demonstrating how individual and institutional racism persists in America. He neither rants no raves, he does not accuse. He uses clear scientific evidence to demonstrate that the cards are yet stacked against minorities in America. I can say only that it is mind-boggling.
And then he carefully explains how individual and institution racism comes into being (often through no real fault of people embracing prejudices and unconsciously profiling), and after that provides successful ways where (such as at the University of Michigan) we are succeeding at more social diversity and inclusion.
The video runs nearly an hour, so I can entirely understand if you elect not to watch it. On the other hand, I cannot recommend it too highly. In Donald Trump's America, Doctor Williams is that refreshing voice that wastes not one minute on anger and recrimination, but uses every minute on how we can rebuild a better America and—with luck—become ourselves betters citizens.
Here’s the link. Watch at least the first ten minutes to see what you think. Not only about what he has to say, but also about the man himself. I guarantee the ten minutes (or the 59 minutes) will not be time wasted. And, if you are like me, you will be buoyed by a sense of hope at a time when hope is becoming a rare commodity.
Go Well and Stay Well,
Bhekaron
P.S. Two shots of Danish autumn from John Venning, beech trees in the King’s Deer Park.
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